Editor’s Note: My experience with the Sea Tow Foundation’s Lifejacket Loaner Program is a positive one. In the town where I own a home, our local bait and tackle shop, Haskell’s Bait and Tackle, has provided space for a Lifejacket Loaner Station for many years. It not only provides for those not having lifejackets, but for those who may not have the right size or number of lifejackets for when family and friends are visiting and coming out on the boat. Read the press release below to learn more. –Kevin Falvey
The Sea Tow Foundation, a national nonprofit organization dedicated to preventing boating-related accidents and fatalities, is now accepting applications for life jackets and life jacket loaner stand supplies as part of its 2026 Life Jacket Loaner Program. Since the program’s launch in 2008, the Sea Tow Foundation has distributed more than 106,000 life jackets and now oversees over 1,300 Life Jacket Loaner Stations nationwide to help keep boaters safe on the water.
Local businesses, nonprofit organizations, and agencies across the United States and U.S. territories are encouraged to apply before the February 28, 2026 deadline, which is an extension on the previously listed date.
Funded through the Sport Fish Restoration and Boating Trust Fund and administered by the U.S. Coast Guard, select applicants are awarded life jackets and/or materials to support life jacket loaner stations, new or old, in their communities. Each loaner station provides boaters with access to U.S. Coast Guard-approved life jackets in sizes ranging from infant to adult extra-large that can be borrowed and returned.
Applications will be accepted for:
- Life jackets and a stand-building kit for a new or replacement station
- Life jackets to replenish an existing station
- Life jackets for recurring events or for agency boats
“The Sea Tow Foundation Life Jacket Loaner Program allows local organizations to become part of a national effort to make safe boating easy and accessible in every community,” said Executive Director, Gail R. Kulp. “We encourage any interested groups to apply so that we can continue to help make boating a safe and enjoyable pastime in 2026.”
All applicants will be notified of the reviewers’ decisions by April 30, 2026, and awarded materials will be shipped in May 2026, in time for the summer boating season.
Full eligibility criteria and the application can be found at: boatingsafety.com/lifejacketapplication
To learn more about the Life Jacket Loaner Program: boatingsafety.com/page/life-jacket-loaner-program
About Sea Tow Foundation
The Sea Tow Foundation – a 501(c)(3) nonprofit organization – was started in 2007 by Captain Joe Frohnhoefer, founder of Sea Tow Services International, after he witnessed too many preventable accidents and fatalities on the water. Through its flagship programs which include the Life Jacket Loaner Program, Sober Skipper Campaign, and the National Boating Safety Awards, the Sea Tow Foundation strives towards its vision of a world where boaters are safe and responsible.
To learn more, visit boatingsafety.com
